Oral Histories

Osaka, the household appliance powerhouse-Toward the creation of a new lifestyle and space

In addition to gathering information on products, the Industrial Design Archive Project conducts interviews to record oral histories from corporate designers and others. We aim to add a new metric for assessing industrial product design. shining light on things like the process and background behind product development, the intentions and thinking of developers, and the lifestyle that is thought would be achieved by marketing these products. By seeing a product as a medium through which a new intangible thing comes into being that changes our lives and society, rather than as nothing more than an object that is a finished product, we gain a new awareness of the value of industrial products from the perspective of culture and the historical record.

Designer Testimony

• 08It all began with the T-shape

  Ichikawa Kuniharu

• 07Flooring for the masses—Popularizing premium wood

  Nakajima Tsutomu

• 06A new business system—Industrially produced home interiors

  Masuji Hideo

• 05Design management distribution and integration

  Sakashita Kiyoshi

• 04Everything is in the process of changing

  Naito Masatoshi

• 03Living the Showa Era design experience

  Kumagai Kazuo

• 02A professional at making the intangible—Designing relationships

  Tatsumi Masakazu

• 01Unobtrusive excellence—The triangle tap, a pinnacle in design

  Kachi Koen

The people behind the design

• 01From selling to product planning to communicating

  Yamaguchi Mineo